DUFCFAN Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Hi guys, been a while since I've posted on here. I'm hearing that we're close to signing Stephen O'Donnell. We've just released Mark Wilson, so that may be an indication that we're trying to get him tied up in this transfer window. What can you guys tell me about him? Is he a modern day attacking full back, or is he more defensive minded? Is he any good? Also, Chris Erskine, who last year I came on here and slated, begging you guys to take him back, has been an absolute standout for us this year, what a turnaround in fortunes it's been for him at Tannadice. I suspect his loan spell at Firhill gave him the belief that he could perform at this level. It's amazing what a bit of confidence can do, definite POTY candidate for us, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thornwoodjag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 You are getting another gem from us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
read'n'yell Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I'm hearing that we're close to signing Stephen O'Donnell. We've just released Mark Wilson, so that may be an indication that we're trying to get him tied up in this transfer window. What can you guys tell me about him? Is he a modern day attacking full back, or is he more defensive minded? Is he any good? Defense is his weakest aspect, which I thought would limit him to not get a move like Sinclair did. He has a power of energy and gets up and down the wing non-stop all day - I've never seen anyone cover so much ground as O'Donnell. Going forward he is confidence based and can be a hit or a miss. Sometimes he is great but other times for all the endevour his final ball just isn't too good. In a team like United he may have more support from forward players but just now he is in a habit of running forward then passing it back, defeating the point of his run. He is so forward minded it leaves the biggest gap in his game, and our defence, as often he gets caught out and the centre backs get dragged out to cover. If the defensive mids aren't back quick enough to then cover in deep, it leaves us very exposed - much like Ciftci's goal in our last game. I posted elsewhere because of his defensive frailties and sometimes questionable final ball that I don't think he is irreplaceable to us. No doubt at 22 he is still a big talent and will probably continue to improve - either be a standout or a disaster at a new club probably. After the sucess of Robertson he may do well up the road and I kind of hope you take him now so we at least get some money but I read it was a pre-contract for the summer. United have done well getting Erskine, Paton, O'Donnell all for free. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Nixon Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Is he any good? Why would you believe us? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yokerjag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 mcmillan is much better. o'donnell leaves huge gaps in defence in pointless forays up the park, as his final ball in is usually pants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark Passenger Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 o'donnell...pointless forays up the park. You realise the success of our system's dependent on width and wing play, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westend Jag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 mcmillan is much better. o'donnell leaves huge gaps in defence in pointless forays up the park, as his final ball in is usually pants. i like o'donnell but couldn't agree more with above...his delivery is gash 9 times out of 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 O'Donnell is very good. He'll be a big miss for us and not be easily replaced. Like most of our players he has the mental strength of a small kitteh. Like with Erskine if the Dundee United fans jump on his back unless he plays like Cafu each week then he'll panic and start to make a lot of mistakes. Give him time and you'll probably get a few bob for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) i like o'donnell but couldn't agree more with above...his delivery is gash 9 times out of 10 Loads of people on here stated that we wouldn't miss ATS....we have. Plenty of people saying we won't miss SOD.....we will. Our whole playing style since McNamara came in and Archie took over has been based on these two bombing forward at every opportunity and it's what made us so exciting to watch. If SOD goes I can see our style being radically changed where we will be far tighter in defence, but very much less exciting going forward. Edited January 13, 2015 by Lindau 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garscube Road End Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 He's utter pish! Wasting your time signing him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) If SOD goes and we bring in someone more defensive then presumably it opens the door for Lawless again to be playing most weeks? The downside of playing SOD s that you need to cover his back. Utd will have more accomplished defenders to do that? Have we missed ATS? What would be different if we had him? Edited January 13, 2015 by La Scimmia Rossa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cup Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Have we missed ATS? What would be different if we had him? We've certainly missed having a left back. Keenan, Bannigan and Carroll have all been roasted in that position at some point. Bannigan and Keenan in particular costing us goal recently. SOD won't be leaving in January anyway it looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 ATS cost us a few goals last season. Where is the evidence that we have missed ATS? We are better off than we were when he was here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garscube Road End Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 United fan saying on P&B that he's signed on a pre contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javeajag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 SOD is the epitome of the modern full back great going forward , loads of energy and versatile .....the normal rules however apply poor defensively, caught out of position leaving gaps on a fairly regular basis and his final delivery could be a lot better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 ATS cost us a few goals last season. Where is the evidence that we have missed ATS? We are better off than we were when he was here. We've not missed him in the sense that overall the team has been stronger. But we have missed what he contributed which was an attacking outlet while being reasonable in defense. Nobody has been as good at either (except McMillan defensively) since he went. The team misses him as we'd be stronger if he was still with us - that is yes, we're a bit stronger since we've improved in other areas such as having Osman and Seabourne in but we'd have been even better with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andynptfc Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 ATS cost us a few goals last season. Where is the evidence that we have missed ATS? We are better off than we were when he was here. I'd say we are better off due to the fact that the team as a whole, is much more solid than it was last season. If we single out the left back position, carrol hasn't really shown much. Mcmillan then looked decent untill he got injured/suspended. We've since had banzo, elliot and keenan all having a shot here so it's probably fair to say we've missed ATS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindau Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I'd say we are better off due to the fact that the team as a whole, is much more solid than it was last season. If we single out the left back position, carrol hasn't really shown much. Mcmillan then looked decent untill he got injured/suspended. We've since had banzo, elliot and keenan all having a shot here so it's probably fair to say we've missed ATS. Would agree with that. Think we are not as attack minded without ATS. Nobody has replaced him, except perhaps McMillan, but injury and suspension has meant he has not had a proper run at it. The defence is stronger, but that's down to Seaborne. I thought Elliot was excellent at left back in the 2nd half at Fir Park and I would be tempted to give him a run at full back 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglemon Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 ATS cost us a few goals last season. Where is the evidence that we have missed ATS? We are better off than we were when he was here. We'd be far better with ATS. We're doing better despite losing him due to Abdul, Seaborne etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyprusjag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 If any player signs a pre-contract they should not play out the season for us.You ever work with someone leaving for a better job? They go demob happy and footballers in particular try and avoid injury.not saying it's deliberate but just the way the brain's wired. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westend Jag Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 Loads of people on here stated that we wouldn't miss ATS....we have. Plenty of people saying we won't miss SOD.....we will. Our whole playing style since McNamara came in and Archie took over has been based on these two bombing forward at every opportunity and it's what made us so exciting to watch. If SOD goes I can see our style being radically changed where we will be far tighter in defence, but very much less exciting going forward. Get your point and agree the way the full backs attacked particularly in the 1st div added greatly to our play, would say this along with Erskine / Lawless interchanging & directness, with the ball retention from our midfielders in banzo, paton et al was also critical to the nice football we have witnessed more often than not in recent yrs... My point with O'Donnell is that he gets himself forward really well on occasion but more often than not his delivery is poor...I suppose thats partly why he is with us and not at a higher level, if he works at that and improves it then he becomes a lot more valuable to the team...defensively most people would agree his positioning can be questionable too...if we had a left back, macmillan (purely in a football context) would be my 1st choice right back, what he may not give attacking wise he more than makes up with his other attributes. I often watch people like O'Donnell closely during games and I think he has had some good games this yr but also some poor games where he gives the ball away, actually think he played one of his best against Utd. where he along with conrad seemed to revel in having extra responsibility with young inexperienced guys directly beside them... Do think if he is looking like going, a pre contract with a team in the same league doesn't feel right - we should move him now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
read'n'yell Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I think O'Donnell and Sinclair are on different levels - Sinclair was far far better. Every game he could beat men, drive forward and provide good forward balls (forward being the key). Watching highlights from last season shows Sinclair was involved in almost all our goals, his lanky awkward stride was too unpredictable from his opposing full back. However, I think a large amount of that was down to having Higgy to play off - they had a real chemistry with one-twos and through balls. Unfortunately for O'Donnell he has had to play with Elliott almost all season, I know some people like his commitment and effort, but he isn't the best for one-two quick football. It would be interesting to see O'Donnell regularly play with a creative player in front of him. As my previous post suggests it would probably cost more goals than it would create but it would definitely be entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThickAsThieves Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 However, I think a large amount of that was down to having Higgy to play off - they had a real chemistry with one-twos and through balls. Linked up really well with Bannigan too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter of '63 Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Stephen O'Donnell and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair were key players in the success of the side in the two previous seasons...and more importantly, in my view, in the entertaining way we played. We might have more points than last season but that's mainly because we now have big strong defenders who are good at heading the ball clear - though not necessarily to their own players. However, I haven't enjoyed watching the team nearly as much - I'm sure the loss of ATS as an attacking option down the left wing and Higgy's loss of form are not entirely coincidental. ATS also scored two vital goals last season. His replacement, Jake Carroll, was poorer defensively and offered nothing going forward and the alternative of Jordan McMillan is right footed...and temporarily(?) unavailable. The suggestion that we haven't missed ATS is bizarre - is there a secret competition on this forum with a prize for the most absurd post? There have been a few contenders recently. As far as Stephen O'Donnell is concerned, I would be disappointed to see him go but Dundee United would probably be a good move for him - I think he has the potential to play at a higher level and would benefit from playing with better players. His concentration and confidence seem to waiver but McNamara knows him. He must be one of the quickest players in the SPFL and will be frustrated at making runs behind defenders and not receiving the ball. Muirhead used to hit great passes to him but now we prefer to hold on to the ball then punt it upfield. At United, he might find that there are more team mates in the box to hit with crosses. Stephen is capable of daft moments - kamikaze passes out of defence and wasting good attacking positions. I would like to think that that mixture would make him an archetypal Partick Thistle player - similar to Chris Erskine - but I'm beginning to fear some Thistle fans actually prefer running & tackling journeymen to flawed but occasionally brilliant individuals. . Edited January 13, 2015 by Winter of '63 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambies Lost Doo Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I love SOD and his galloping runs. Good guy and tea total to. A professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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